The Best Lawyers in America® 2025 rankings recognize more than half of Cohen & Buckmann’s attorneys as top leaders in their field. The rankings include the firm’s co-founder and managing partner Sandra Cohen, co-founder and partner Carol Buckmann, and partners Gretchen Harders, Lauri London and Zahava Blumenthal, all of whom were highlighted for their work in Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law in New York.
Cohen was also recognized for Employment Law – Management, and has held a Best Lawyers® ranking in Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law since 2019. Cohen is one of the leading executive compensation and employee benefits attorneys in the U.S. She advises global corporations on executive matters such as incentive plans and deferred compensation, and coaches company founders on exit transactions.
Buckmann has more than 40 years of experience advising employers and pension industry leaders on a wide variety of plan issues, and is widely known for her thought leadership on navigating fiduciary issues and employee benefit issues in complex and novel transactions. She has a rare combination of both breadth and depth of knowledge in employee benefits law. Best Lawyers® has recognized Buckmann for Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law since 2020.
Harders represents clients in financial services, entertainment, tax-exempt organizations and various other industries — and she’s often the lawyer that other lawyers seek advice from on employee benefits, pensions and executive compensation. She also advises multinational employers on designing and implementing equity-based compensation packages to incentivize top-level executives.
London counsels corporate and individual clients on contracts, executive compensation and benefits, corporate law and regulatory and compliance matters. Her focus on complex business agreements stems from her previous experience as a corporate and securities attorney and her time as general counsel and chief compliance officer to two SEC-registered investment advisers.
Blumenthal has more than a decade of experience advising employers of all sizes, private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies, executive teams, and boards of directors, benefit plan trustees, investors and fund sponsors. Her practice includes a focus on corporate transactions such as mergers, acquisitions, dispositions and initial public offerings.